Slowly I Am Becoming German ...

It has been 2.5 months since I arrived in Germany. The day of my arrival seems so long ago as I feel quite at home now that I have a bit of a routine established.

At the beginning, there were so many things to get used to. The weather was one. I know some of you have heard my share of complaints about the humid winters here. It was quite different from the dry winter in Edmonton where a warm parka would keep you warm. But here, I felt that once the cold hits you in the eyeball, it would trigger a cold reaction to the rest of the body. I felt like I could never be warm. I have learned to layer like crazy and it was all I can do. I can only complain so much ;)

The other thing I had to get used to here was that people opened their doors and windows a couple times a day for about 5 minutes or more. Crazy ... perhaps. I know I thought it was. I thought, "Why are they letting all the heat out?" which turned into WTF!!! But it is for the humidity and mold problem that often happens here. It is something to get used to but yes ... I, too, do it automatically. I wake up and open the windows. I don't think twice anymore. It's become a part of my daily routine. And when I get home, I do the same. What's going to happen when I get back to Canada?! I'm sure then, someone will knock some sense into me and say, "You're not in Germany anymore."

The trains have been very efficient here. They are rarely delayed. The only time I have seen this happen is during the snowfall. The other popular form of transport is the bike. There are tonnes and tonnes of bikes parked everywhere. And today, I have joined this revolution. With spring in the air, I wanted to explore more of the city and perhaps venture outside. My roommate told me a place where I can get used second-hand bikes called "Arbeitsförderungsbetriebe." The bikes there are donated and fixed by those who have been unemployed. You get a great deal on a bike and it's maintained. You don't have to worry if the brakes are good or if anything is broken so it's pretty worry free and you're also helping a good cause. I got mine for just 35€!!! Of course, it was a youth bike so a bit cheaper than the adult ones. They even added a basket when I asked about it. The people there were super nice and helpful.

But now, the clincher. My roommate goes to the spa near us. On Wednesdays, it is ladies night, which means that only ladies are allowed to be at the spa. She asked me if I would like to join her. Now, as a North American, I thought a spa was a place where you can get massages, saunas, wraps, anything that pampers us. OK. I'm in! As we continued our conversation about the spa at dinner, she revealed to me, "Oh by the way, everyone there walks around nude." What?!!! "Oh and the guys that work there are the only ones dressed.'" I am betting all the men out there are thinking, that has to be the best job in the world! And it probably is! But what is different here is that Germans don't think of nudity as something sexual but just a body. That's it. I am self-conscious that I thought I would just wear my bathing suit. OK. Packed. Done.

So we headed out there to Vierordtbad. It's a nice place where there are saunas of different temperatures, swimming pools of different temperatures, massage rooms, cafe, tanning solarium, lounge chairs, you name it. And yes, everyone was nude... well except for me. We started in one of the saunas but one thing you need to know - to be in the saunas, you HAVE to be nude. I snuck in with my bathing suit, but after 15 minutes, I was like WTF I am in Germany and this is an experience so goodbye bikini. And just like that, you would have thought I was German lol. With all the experiences I have been blessed to have in Germany, I am finding myself becoming more German in my ways and slowly I am becoming German.